Hierophant
by Laryna6
Summary: Seto recieves the Millennium Rod at Battle City. Mangaverse AU. Because paranoia is a habit that comes in handy. SetoSeth
1. Mystic

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

This series has been yuri fics so far (Dragon Lady, Black Magic Woman, High Priestess), but I wanted to be fair to the men too.

Well, this has been done while the yuri ones were more original… but I love Seto/Seth. So you're just going to have to put up with more.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

As Seto flew the Blue-Eyes jet home from the tournament his mind drifted from his honest enjoyment of the free blue sky to the thing he had stuffed under his seat.

The next time he went to a manufacturing plant he was having someone toss it in a smelter. That would show Yugi.

He didn't like the Items. He'd seen… he knew what he had seen. He didn't want to believe it, but he'd seen it. He had to trust himself, at least. He refused to trust in destiny. But there was something to all this mystic nonsense.

He did sort of want to believe Pegasus had beaten him with the Eye. It gave him an explanation. He knew that there hadn't been any normal cheating: he'd held his cards too close to his chest at the end.

He didn't want to become like Pegasus. The Item had been a crutch. Denied its advantages, Yugi had beaten the creator of the game. Pathetic.

Also… look at Pegasus. Look at Malik, at Isis (who wasn't exactly sane either), even look at Yugi (who was trapped in this destiny nonsense). The Items weren't healthy. He refused to have anything that was probably black magic around Mokuba.

Even so, that evening after everything had been taken care of he closed himself in his home office and started to examine it.

He unsheathed the dagger and made a few passes with it. It wasn't as awkward as it looked.

The power of control. And a hidden dagger. It was certainly the best of the Items. No removing an eye or having to wear a gaudy necklace. He could tuck this into a boot or use it as a letter opener.

He put it up on the windowsill and regarded it. It clashed with the décor but it was about time to redecorate in any case.

"Come out," he said finally.

He regarded… himself. He was half expecting him to be wearing the gaudy clothes from the vision, but he was wearing a similar trenchcoat, only cut more flowing instead of stiff. The effect was less 'badass,' as the mutt would put it, but more elegant.

Seto walked around him. Lesser mortals would be flustered under that intent gaze but his double showed no reaction. That won a few grudging points. "At least you don't have ridiculous spiked hair."

"You've seen me before. Of course I don't."

"Who was that woman?"

"A foreign slave. My father killed her so her ka would serve me. He wanted me to take over the kingdom and kill the Pharaoh."

"The other Yugi, I presume?" Seto grimaced. "I suppose I should have you tell everything you know to him tomorrow. I owe him that much, and I always pay my debts."

"He is my cousin, and I protected him even before I knew that."

"In other words, you'll tell him no matter what."

"The world and his soul are at stake. Would you do any less for Mokuba?"

"Touche." It was good to talk to someone who understood how things worked, what was important. "He is my rival as well. I don't want him dead again, not until I defeat him."

It was his double's turn to grimace. "He died before I could defeat him and win the double crown in my own right."

"And I suppose I'm fated to keep trying to beat him because you couldn't?"

"You're fated to keep trying to beat him because you love a real duel, not some easy game against an opponent who doesn't know what they're getting into."

"I hate losing."

"If you truly hated losing you wouldn't have created an entire tournament just for the chance to come in third." An eyebrow rose. "You loved the challenge. You loved the clash of the gods. I have to hand it to you. I never managed to make him resort to the gods in a duel with me."

Seto laughed lowly. "What? No high and mighty, I am an ancient and powerful spirit?"

His mirror image snorted. "I was a king and god. However, you have more employees than I had subjects. Populations were smaller in those days. You have as much right to your pride as I do mine."

"What was your name?"

"Seth."

"I refuse to believe my _name_ was fated."

"Kaiba. Seahorses are thought to be baby dragons. You don't want to believe in fate. _I _don't want to believe in fate." Seth shrugged. "But it exists, the gods are real. You know you have to fight to control your destiny. Is it really so much of a surprise to you that there is something to fight against?"

"I never thought of it that way." This Seth was starting to grow on him. Dangerous.

"We're both orphans. We've both had horrible luck with father figures." A wry smile. "We have the same true rival. We both have little ones to look after."

"Mokuba won't die."

"I have no intention of letting 'Yami' die either, or Yugi with him. Or you. The whole world is in deadly danger. I agreed to let myself be sealed for that reason."

"You wanted to keep fighting even after death." Admirable.

"Wouldn't you?"

"For Mokuba?" It had been a rhetorical question. Seth knew him too well for there to be any doubt. "You were a high priest?"

"The high priest of Set. Commander of the armies and head of the council of priests, later Pharaoh."

"You were a duelist."

"The best in Egypt, bar Pharaoh."

"World Champion." All this time, Seto had kept circling him. "You can see Yugi tomorrow evening. Until then, you're teaching me how to summon the Blue-Eyes into the real world. I know it can be done."

"Not a novice's lesson. But then, you're not a novice."

Exactly. "All the others are narcissists. I'm not foolish enough to fall prey to that sort of weakness."

"Could you ever really want anyone who wasn't your equal? I loved the Pharaoh."

"I admit I am attracted to Yami and Yugi. However, I have never let my hormones interfere with my actions."

"Of course not."


	2. Druid

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

Manga canon, so no Doom Arc or Seto going into the Memory World.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"No."

"But Seto," Yugi pleaded.

"I said no. You don't want this either." Seto's arms were folded and he looked like the classic immovable object.

Yugi sighed. "I don't want to keep him trapped here, Kaiba. It's not fair. What happens when I die and the Puzzle shatters? I want to see him again in heaven."

"The last time there were Items in that thing, Zorc almost came through and destroyed the world. If the door to the underworld opens, who knows what would come through this time. No. I am not giving you the Millennium Rod."

"But if he isn't defeated in the Ceremonial Battle, he can't go to the afterlife!"

"I'll beat him soon enough. He doesn't need the portal to go. Once he's defeated, he can leave whenever he likes."

"How do you know?"

"I asked Seth."

"Seth? You mean the High Priest?" Yugi looked even more hopeful.

"He appeared last night. Unfortunately I was too busy being taught to catch you before you went into that game. You should have invited me."

"We meant to go alone… I have very good friends." Yugi smiled at the thought of them.

"You should have had us with you instead of the mediocrity." Seto rolled his eyes.

Yugi smiled at something. Seto had no idea what, he should be defending his friend. Really, the term mediocrity was unfair. He'd come in second out of the top four and fourth out of the top eight in two tournaments, and Battle City had been no novice's tournament.

It was fun to taunt him.

"Can I meet him? Ya… I mean Atem really wants to see him," Yugi asked.

Seto focused on the Rod, stuck in his high boot. _Get out here. Your king commands your presence. _

_Very funny. _Seth was amused, and appeared beside him.

Yugi smiled up at Seth as Seth bowed. Yami appeared beside Yugi and stepped toward Seth. They embraced.

Seth kept his face expressionless.

_Enjoying the view?_ Seth teased.

_I am the head of a company. I cannot afford a public scandal like sleeping with my _male_ rival. Too many people disapprove of Duel Monsters as it is. And they don't even know that there really was an evil being involved with it. _

Atem and Seth stepped back from each other but remained holding hands. "I am afraid that I left your self in the Memory World in the same situation I left you in."

"I forgive you, my Pharaoh."

"I should be calling you that." Atem laughed, deep and rich.

Yugi, in his leather and buckles, was visibly enjoying the view. Seto envied him. He was still an innocent, he didn't worry about the world. He hoped he didn't learn the price of fame. Although… he was well used to hiding Atem's secret. How could the world condemn him for a lover it didn't know existed?

"You can call me it when I defeat you and win the title from you."

"You had best do so quickly, or Yugi will defeat me first."

"Or me," Seto added.

Atem laughed again.

A lover the world didn't know existed. Someone who could complete his sentences. Someone who understood living for others. Someone with leadership skills that could reinforce his own.

He'd used his body and mind as barter before, after all. Though this would be a mutual exchange.

Seth was certainly attractive, even more so than Seto himself. The subtle makeup highlighted his eyes. Piercing. He knew Seto better than anyone but Mokuba.

"This is a nice little family reunion, but I have a meeting soon." In another two hours. He'd booked time for a duel if it came up.

Seth and Atem let go of each other. "We must duel soon."

"I'm going to be holding a tournament in America. I will invite the… Jounouchi if you agree to come and duel the winner and myself in exhibition matches," Seto announced.

"Thank you, Kaiba!" Yugi reached out to Atem, who disappeared, obviously rejoining him.

"Don't mention it. Now I invite you to use the door."

When they were gone Seth looked intrigued. "Do you want to duel me to see who will have the honor of facing Atem at that tournament right now?"

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, you must have had a reason for cutting the meeting short and dueling neither of them."

"I want to defeat them in a tournament. I will be facing them at the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix. It's my tournament."

"As you wish." Seth's eyes narrowed in an interrogatory gaze like Kaiba's own.

"You want to sleep with me."

"Be your lover, yes." Seth looked intrigued.

"I'm willing to consider the idea. But I want a sample. I don't accept less than the best."

"Of course not. You're the other me. How do you want to go about it?"

"The couch folds out into a cot. The cleaning staff is reliable." Was there anything else? He tried to think of everything. The windows were already blocked, he hadn't wanted anyone with a long-range camera to see Atem and Seth. The room was of course soundproofed and had just been swept for bugs. He started to shrug off his trenchcoat.

Seth held up a hand for him to stop. "Let me."

"You first." Seto watched him disrobe, his famous self control keeping him from reaching out.

"You can touch me, you know." Seth seemed amused. "Think of this as like any other game."

"Who am I playing against?" But he walked forward and let Seth start to remove his layers of armor.

"Not who. Your previous best 'score.'"

"That was a terrible pun."

"I'm sure a genius like you can think of more productive uses for my mouth." Seth leaned forward.

Seto leaned back a little, by instinct, then closed the gap.

He could indeed. His hands started the process of memorizing the weaknesses of what was _his_ body. He stepped out of his pants, watching Seth's back as he bent down to push them off.

Secret and safe. He could indulge.

Who was safer to love than himself?


End file.
